People are five times more likely to do the right thing when given time to think it over than they are when they have to make an instant decision.  The research behind this statistic, conducted by a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, is described in an article in the February/March issue of the Academy of Management Journal.  The study concludes that organizations should "consciously design moral decision-making processes, integrating them into training and enforcing them institutionally via policies, rewards, and sanctions. Policies mandating a 'cooling-off period' or multiple levels of approval for consequential decisions, for example, might provide institutional analogs for contemplation, and ethics hotlines might act as institutional conversations. Opportunities for instituting and improving these kinds of procedures abound."  In short, think before you leap.

So what does this have to do with employment law?  The obvious application is retaliation. 

After staying steady for nearly a decade, the number of retaliation claims filed with the EEOC has shot up every year since 2007.  What happened in 2007?  The U.S. Supreme Court decided Burlington Northern v. White.  In that case the Court expanded the scope of actionable retaliation claims to include actions viewed by a reasonable person in the employee's position as materially adverse, even if they did not result in an ultimate employment action like discharge or demotion.  

The steady rise in the number of retaliation claims filed with the EEOC is depicted on the chart below:

Now back to the Northwestern study.  When an employee makes a bogus accusation of discrimination or asserts workplace rights in an opportunistic way, the supervisor's immediate instinct may be      Continue Reading...

For those employers subject to the requirement, the deadline for posting the OSHA Form 300A is coming right up.  The OSHA Form 300A is the summary of job-related injuries and illnesses for the prior year.  The summary is required to be posted from February 1st through April 30th and must be located in the location where all other employment-related notices are posted by the employer.  For further information on OSHA recordkeeping requirements click here.

Are your employees happy?  In the not too distant past that was a question most HR professionals cared a lot about.  Remember when employee retention was a big concern?  In today's employment environment, this topic seems to have fallen off the radar screen.  With unemployment still hovering at a level most would consider too high, the happiness of the workforce seems to be a forgotten concept.  The conventional wisdom is that employees aren't likely to job hop when jobs seem a bit hard to find.  While all this might be true, employers would be wise to keep employee morale in mind.  As we are all painfully aware, the economy runs in cycles.  Who knows how far away the next cycle of low unemployment and tight labor markets might be.  In addition to employee retention, employee morale is tied to employee productivity.  Keeping employees satisfied and working hard is the key to any employer's success.

It seems that employers in Wichita might be keeping an eye on this particular issue.  In a survey released by careerbliss.com, Wichita was tabbed as the 6th happiest city for work in the U.S.  Our neighbors in Kansas City managed to end up ranked 16th on the list of unhappiest cities for work in the U.S.  Click here to see more of the survey information. 

Late last year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration ("FMCSA") and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration ("PHMSA") established rules related to cell phone usage by motor carriers on interstate highways and carriers of hazardous materials on interstate highways.  These new rules went into effect on January 3, 2012.  The new rules, among other things, restrict the use of hand-held mobile phones by drivers of commercial motor vehicles and make employers liable if they encourage or allow hand-held mobile phone use.  Employers should be mindful of the FMCSA's and PHMSA's approach making employers responsible for the actions of their drivers in those cases where the employees use a hand-held phone while performing their duties, carrying out company business, or otherwise acting on the employer's behalf when the violation occurs.  The fine for these violations can be as high as $11,000 per incident.

It goes without saying that this new rule will be difficult for employers to implement and enforce due to the high number of employees carrying their own personal mobile phones.  Employers can protect themselves somewhat by following a few basic precautions.  First, while not a fail-safe remedy, employers should implement a written policy prohibiting hand-held mobile phone use.  The written policy should clearly spell out prohibited behaviors, list the consequences for engaging in the behavior (and don't forget to enforce the policy), and provide employees with some incentive to comply with the policy.  As part of the implementation of the policy, employers should engage in a series of communications with their      Continue Reading...

It’s not too late for human resources professionals to make a few resolutions for 2012.  If you need help getting started with your list, check out this article from HR Hero Line, featuring ideas from several employment lawyers across the country, including Kansas Employment Law Blog author Boyd Byers.  (HR Employment Law Resolutions for 2012)  Suggestions include: updating your sexual harassment policy, creating a social media policy, reexamining your FLSA classifications, and ensuring ADA and Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) compliance.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision yesterday in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, a case involving the application of the ministerial exception.  The short version of the facts is a religious school terminated the employment of a school teacher classified as a "called" teacher and she filed a complaint with the EEOC alleging disability discrimination prohibited by the ADA.  The Supreme Court reiterated the validity of the ministerial exception and noted that it bars employment discrimination suits brought on behalf of a minister challenging a church's decision to terminate the minister's employment.  While it is certainly notable that the Supreme Court validated the ministerial exception, institutions relying on the use of the ministerial exception should keep in mind that it will not apply as a blanket covering all employees or employment decisions of a religious institution.   

There are an estimated 65,000 illegal immigrants in Kansas. As we previously reported, Kansas lawmakers are expected to debate tougher laws targeting these immigrants when the 2012 legislative session opens on Monday, January 9. One proposal likely to receive serious consideration is a requirement that companies doing business with the state use the federal E-Verify system to check workers’ status. Business groups have expressed concern about the cost of compliance with such potential new hiring and employment requirements. We’ll keep you posted on these and other legislative developments that affect employers in Kansas.